Blessed are the Merciful

Kumusta!

It’s fun living as 4 instead of 2 because you get the chance to learn from 3 others you are living with rather than just your companion. The area was so huge that we couldn’t go to any neighborhood in the area more than once a week, and we still couldn’t make it all around the area.  And with the surplus of missionary's coming in, president saw fit to put four of us in one ward, so we go to church together and everything.  This week was General Conference for us, so we finally got to hear the news for ourselves.  We don’t know what to think of it, really. 19 year-old sisters and 18 year-old elders are going to be different but I probably won’t see any until I have about 6 months left.  That was a great announcement from the prophet to celebrate my one year mark,  though.

Elders Oliva, Amoi, me and Sarcauga
eating like champions.  

This week Hamblin and me went on splits and traveled all around our area and met no success. Better luck this week. I hear that you are having my siblings pray for me to eat more food.  I’ll try.  I’d love to just live off the fruit here, but that would be too expensive.  We have very far places in our area and we walk to those very far places and then walk all the way back. This is the biggest town I’ve been in, but its still a far shot from a city.

My favorite talks in conference were Elder Larry Echo Hawk’s talk on Saturday, and actually, the closing prayer to the priesthood session. It may sound weird that the prayer was one of my favorite parts, and it’s not because it was 'finally' ending, but because it was so short and so simple and seemed to be pointed directly to me.

They do not celebrate Halloween in the Philippines, in fact they don’t celebrate anything between the beginning of September and Christmas, except Christmas.  So actually on September 1st we started to hear Christmas music everywhere we go and they start singing Christmas hymns in church. 

Dorian fruit.  Smells like rotten eggs,
 tastes like egg salad.  Mmmmmm.

I study love and charity daily and have been since I realized I was a little short. Charity is defined in Webster’s as 'good will or love towards humanity' or in a simpler word, 'Mercy.'  The merciful will obtain Mercy and the merciless and the brutal will be lost. I understand my weakness and I will strive to do better.

I love you Mom, and the rest of you. I love you all so much.

Fight like Dragons... merciful Dragons.

Mahal ko kayo,

Elder Allen